Saturday, August 28, 2010

3PAR says HP acquisition bid 'superior' to Dell's

WASHINGTON — Data storage firm 3PAR said Saturday a newly-raised acquisition offer by computer-maker Hewlett-Packard was "superior" to that made by Dell, amid a bidding war between the PC giants.

3PAR's "board of directors has determined that the unsolicited proposal by Hewlett-Packard Company... constitutes a 'superior proposal,'" the firm said in a statement.

"The 3PAR board of directors notified Dell of its intention to terminate the merger agreement with Dell," after a period of three business days, the firm added.

HP on Friday announced it would increase its offer for 3PAR to two billion dollars or 30 dollars per share in cash, up 11 percent from Dell's 27 dollars per share offer.

HP, the world's largest computer maker, said it did not require financing to carry out the deal that has been approved by its board of directors.

It was unclear whether Dell would be willing to up its offer in an effort to win back 3PAR amid what increasingly appears to be a war of prestige between the two giants.

The latest bids cap an intensifying two-week battle for 3PAR, which focuses on so-called "cloud computing" in which data is stored remotely.

Dell first announced on August 16 it had reached an agreement to acquire 3PAR at 18 dollars per share. HP made a counter bid of 24 dollars per share in cash, which Dell matched. HP then raised its bid to 27 dollars, and Dell followed suit.

Both Dell and HP are hoping the acquisition would offer near-exclusive control over the market of advanced high-end data storage solutions, where 3PAR is the most dominant player.

3PAR's technology enables large companies and government bodies to shift to "cloud" storage platforms, giving them extra speed in accessing data and cutting storage costs by nearly 59 percent, according to the company.